A Polka Dot Stir Fry

Every birthday I was allowed to pick a place to celebrate my birthday for dinner.  When I was younger, I always picked Asian restaurants - Chinese, Japanese, Thai.  There was a point where I went to the same sushi place four or five years in a row.  I wanted that melt in your mouth sushi and noodle dishes.  In addition, you got to sit in booths which closed. 

A couple of nights ago, I craved a stir-fry.  Luckily for me, I live within an area where there are plenty of ethnic supermarkets, especially Asian markets.  Any special ingredient I want, I can find for cheap.  Best of all, there are a couple within five minutes from where I live.  Mr. Polka Dot stated, “The samples are better than Costco,” after we left.  They had everything you ever needed for an Asian meal.  Want tofu – they had about 20 different varieties.  Want seaweed salad, here are 8 servings frozen in a bag.  After roaming this market, we picked up enough ingredients for this amazing stir fry and other meals. 

As for the meal - Mr. Polka Dot I agreed that this is my best stir fry ever.  Onto the recipe,

A Polka Dot Stir Fry

A Polka Dot Original

2 packets of Udon Noodles

1 package of Firm Tofu

¾-1 pound of Shrimp

¾ cup carrots

2 tsp of ginger

5-6 cloves chopped garlic (you can reduce, if you don’t like garlic)

1 small bunch of broccoli

1 small can of water chestnuts

1 large can of baby corn

1 pepper, cut into slices

1 ½ cups of chicken stock

1 cup of your favorite soy sauce and/or teriyaki sauce (I combined a couple of sauces)

2-3 tbsp of cornstarch

1 tbsp of vegetable oil

Clean and peel shrimp.  Cut up tofu into cubes and pat dry.  Cut carrots and broccoli into small pieces.  Prepare udon noodles by cooking them like pasta for about 10 minutes or until al dente. Heat 1tbsp of vegetable oil in wok.  When oil is hot, place shrimp in wok.  Cook shrimp on each side until pink.  Be careful, don’t cook too long, otherwise the shrimp will be rubbery. Take out shrimp.  Place ginger and garlic into wok along with the vegetables.  Cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure that all of the vegetables are being cooked.   Add tofu and cook for another 3-4 minutes.  Combine chicken stock, soy sauce mixture, and cornstarch together.  Pour into wok.  When it boils and the sauce thickens, add cooked udon noodles.  Let cook for another minute and add shrimp.  Let sit for another minute or until shrimp is warm.  Serve immediately. 

Triple Chocolate Cake

This was supposed to be for a goodbye party for a friend that I attended.  However, I got a phone call from the organizer that the venue was not letting us bring in our own cake.  It then became mine to share with family.  Three types of chocolate in one cake – just like my wedding cake.  However, I didn’t want a heavy cake.  I figured using my favorite chocolate cake recipe was a good start.  For the filling, I was inspired by my favorite cake from my local bakery, chocolate fudge.   Reading online, I found that you can whip chocolate ganache to be fluffier.   I was sold.  Lastly, I felt that I needed a light chocolate buttercream.  Swiss-buttercream is always a crowd pleaser and its light.  It was the perfect topping.   Apparently, I did not make enough ganache to fill all of the layers of the cake.  Instead, I filled the middle layer with some chocolate swiss buttercream.  Next time, I would double the recipe or make two types – dark and white.  Verdict from the Polka Dot family – YUM!, including from my sister who never eats cake.

I couldn't wait to take a bite!

My favorite Chocolate Cake: 

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.  Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.   Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache 

Adapted from Savory Sweet Life  

12 ounces chocolate, chopped into small pieces (I used dark chocolate chips)

1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Place chocolate pieces in a large bowl.  Heat heavy cream on medium high until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed and glossy.  Stick it in the fridge to cool down.  Whip the ganache into a frosting.  Be careful when you whip as it if you whip too long, it will curdle and look like the start of butter.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

From Martha Stewart 

5 large egg whites

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch of salt

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 ½ ounces of semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Directions

1.       Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips).

2.       Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.

3.       With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all butter has been added, fold in vanilla and semisweet chocolate.  Switch to the paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula, and continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day.

Once each individual component is completed, put the cake together.  I made four layers out of the chocolate cake.  Be aware, they were thin and could break very easily.  Alternate filling the cake with chocolate ganache and chocolate buttercream. 

A couple of years ago, I found this beautifully decorated cake on Martha Stewart.  Ruffles all around the cake.  Such a simple decoration for a cake.  It was exactly what I was looking for.

I found a video on you tube to help me and tried my best.  Not the worst first attempt. 

 

Enjoy!

Back to Blogging: An Update on My Life

Hello Bloggers… You don’t need to adjust your eyes.  Yes, I’m back.  It has been almost a year.  What a year it has been.  The biggest change is that.  My favorite sous chef is now Mr. Polka Dot. That’s right – He finally proposed.  After a whirlwind engagement period of 6 months and a week, we finally got married on July 2.

From Jovan Photography

 See that cake,  that would be our cake. 

From Jovan Photography

The cake was full of chocolate.  The top layer in which we will eat next year was chocolate cake with chocolate fudge.  The layer that we cut into was checkerboard.  The bottom tiers were chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream. 

Now for our honeymoon, we did every foodie’s dream – ITALY.  We went to Venice, Florence, Tuscany, with our home base in Sinalunga, and Rome.  We had some amazing meals there with our favorite in Florence and the countryside.  Have you ever had drunken spaghetti before?  What about stuffed zucchini flowers?  I also had one of my lifetime dreams completed - Mr. and Mrs. Polka Dot had a private cooking lesson in Tuscany. 

Funny story – we never had the lesson scheduled before we left.  We couldn’t find one that we liked.  Our travel agent recommended this restaurant in Tuscany called La Chiusa.  Not only are the views of Montepulicano and Pienza, but the food is amazing.  We had amazing homemade pasta, stuffed zucchini flowers.  Let’s not forget the best black truffle pasta I have ever had in my life. Totally worth the 18 euros.  Long story short, we met the chef, Dania, and asked her to give us a private lesson.  The cooking lesson was amazing.  We learned to make vegetable risotto, three different types of handmade pasta (pici, tagliatelle, ravioli), her special tomato sauce, chicken with herbs, and caramel ice cream along with her helpful tips for entertaining.  Also, Massimo, the best waiter, helped us pair wine to the courses. 

Other places we enjoyed:  The food was also really good at our hotel Amorosa.  Mr. Polka Dot’s favorite meal was in Florence at Il Latini.  The whole meal was all meat that I do not typically eat such as steak. Mr Polka Dot was shocked I tried it.  I preferred the melon and potatoes though.   My favorite meal in Florence was the drunken spaghetti at Osteria Dei Benci.

Here are some pictures from our honeymoon, obviously, in food. 

Steak at Il Latini

Bread salad at Il Latini

Caramel Ice Cream from La Chiusa cooking class

  

Keep checking Polka Dot Chef for more updates. I’ve been working hard on recreating and creating various recipes that I cannot wait to share.  Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Grilled Seared Tuna Steak

My favorite dish to get at a restaurant is seared tuna, especially served with a ponzu sauce or some sort of Asian inspired sauce. In college, I loved this one seared tuna dish at the Lost Dog Café.  It was a sandwich called the Voodoo Ahi Tuna. Instead of a ponzu sauce, it was seared tuna with garlic mayo. Add some sweet potato fries and you got an amazing dish. Looking for something a tad healthier, I decided to make a grilled seared tuna steak for dinner for myself and my favorite sous chef. The verdict – We will definitely keep this dish in our dinner rotation. Also, it is a fast meal to make for a weeknight meal. This comes in especially handy as work has started up again.



Grilled Seared Tuna Steak
A Polka Dot Chef Original

2 Tuna Steaks
1 cup Marinade – I used Teriyaki with Garlic Sauce
3 cloves of garlic sliced
2 cups Sesame Seeds


Place marinade in gallon sized freezer bag along with the 3 cloves of garlic. Put tuna steaks in bag and place in refrigerator for 20 minutes. Place sesame seeds on a plate. Coat tuna steaks in sesame seeds. Heat grill pan. When hot, place tuna on grill pan, cooking about 4-5 minutes per side to be seared rare. Sidebar – I like my tuna rare. Cook your tuna steak longer if you would like it more done. Served in this picture with sautéed spinach and zucchini.

Flowers and Cake Design Wilton Method Course Review

After taking the first course in July, I couldn’t wait to sign up for the next course. This course focused on royal icing and how to make various flowers such as the Wilton Rose, Apple Blossom, Primrose, Rosebud, Daffodil, and Violet. In addition, we learned various borders such as the reverse shell. I looked most forward to learning the Basketweave in the last class. As each week passed, we learned more and more. Preparation for this class was a tad easier, as we did not have to make a cake each week, only the last week. Here is my final cake.

While it may seem plain, look inside for the surprise.


Wait for it…










….

SURPRISE!  It’s a Tye Dye Cake!! For those of you that know me in real life, I love polka dots and tye dye. So without further ado, here is the recipe.


Tye Dye Cake with Vanilla Buttercream
Cake adapted from Omnomicion

Makes two 9 inch cakes.

White cake mix or your favorite white cake recipe
Food Gels

Butter and flour the cake pans. Using a white box mix, prepare the batter. Before you fill the cake, divide the cake into five equal portions. Color each portion a different color using color gels. I used the following colors: red, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

Obviously, I used a carvel container. For those you, who don’t know what carvel is. It is an ice cream place within the New York area. A couple months ago they were in the news as Dina Lohan, Lindsay Lohan’s mother tried to use her unlimited card. Instead it got taken away. But I digress …back to the cake.


When you pour a color into the pan, drop the batter into the middle of the pan. Do this to each color until you used all the colors. This process will be done twice, one for each pan. The final result will look like this.

Bake as per the directions on the box. After it has cooled, level the cakes to make layers. Fill and frost with vanilla buttercream.


Vanilla Buttercream
Slightly adapted from Megan’s Perfect Buttercream

2 sticks butter, softened
5 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons milk
1.5 tablespoons vanilla extract

Dump everything into a large bowl. Beat slowly at first until everything starts to come together. If you go too fast you will get powdered sugar all over your counter. After all of the loose powder is mixed, place the mixer up to 10. Let whip for approximately 5 minutes, until frosting is light and fluffy.


This cake tasted yummy. Just as a precaution, the buttercream may be too sweet for some. Add sugar by the cup starting with 2-3 cups. Taste in-between until you have found the proper consistency.

YUM!


As far the cake decorating classes, there is one more class, Fondant and Gum Paste, however, I have to wait until next summer as the school year started up again.